Colds are Catching
by Redi Chalyn
Summary: Hermione's caught a nasty bug, but is it truly a cold being passed between the two enemies? Dramione. Temporarily on hiatus...sorry
1. Mudblood Disease

Hermione walked through the corridor of Hogwarts, miserable and cold. Why exactly had she gone out in the rain for so long again? _Oh, right. Ron and Lavender. _She cursed herself inwardly for being so sensitive, but she couldn't help it. She coughed hard into her elbow, groaning. _Just what I need, a blasted cold. _She kept walking, head down. She accidentally bumped into someone, staggering back. "Sorry," she mumbled.

"Merlin's beard! Watch where you're going, you filthy mudblood!"

Hermione groaned, closing her eyes. "Not now, Malfoy." She coughed again, putting a hand on the wall to keep from falling.

Draco's glare suddenly changed to a look of concern, if only for a moment. He scoffed. "You should be in the Hospital Wing with that. I'd hate for the school to die from some filthy muggle disease."

Hermione glared at him. "You're hardly going to die from a cold, Malfoy." She stifled a sneeze, ears popping. "So just drop the insults for one bloody minute, will you?" She went to walk past him, but found her path blocked.

Draco put a cool hand on Hermione's forehead. "You're hot." He closed his eyes. "I mean, you have a fever." He looked at her. "Why are you so wet? Aren't you smart enough to stay out of the rain when you're sick?"

Hermione smacked his hand away. "Bug off, Malfoy." She stumbled as she started walking again.

Draco grunted. "At least get to a bed." He put a hand on her arm to steady her without realizing.

Hermione nodded, eyes closed. Her breath quickened and her body suddenly jerked as she stifled a sneeze. She swayed, steadied by Draco's arm suddenly around her back. She shook her head, rubbing her nose. "I can ged there on by own..." her words were twisted by congestion.

Draco laughed wryly. "Hardly." He guided her forward. "Come on, let's go."

Hermione nodded and let him guide her to the Gryffindor common room entrance. She looked up at the Fat Lady. "Baltese Bubbies."

The Fat Lady looked down at her disdainfully. Draco sighed. "Maltese Puppies." The portrait swung open. He looked at Hermione. "Wow." He guided her into the common room, thankful no one was there.

Hermione plopped down on the couch, not moving. Draco raised an eyebrow. Hermione noticed his gaze and sighed. "Just let me catch my breath. I can get to the dorm alone."

Draco shrugged. "I still say Madam Pomphrey would help." With that, he left.

Hermione shook her head, thinking. Was she imagining things, or was he actually being nice to her? She coughed as she stood up, making her way to the stairs leading to the girls' dormitories. She found her bed with ease and crashed down onto it, falling asleep without even changing.

The next day, Hermione woke up feeling much better, if not fully cured. She got up and dressed, thankful it was Saturday. She brushed her hair quickly and went into the Great Hall, sipping on her pumpkin juice. She didn't have an appetite at all, but had an unquenchable thirst. After hearing the name "Lavender" come out of Ron's mouth for the fifth time in three minutes, she stood up and left. On her way out, she bumped into someone. "Really, you make a habit of running into me." Hermione looked up at Draco, groaning inwardly. The white haired boy smirked. "But since you seem to be feeling better, get out of the way mudblood." The insult was halfhearted, and Hermione could sense it.

Hermione grunted. "Bug off Malfoy." She stifled a sneeze, ears popping again. She sighed, walking past. She barely realized where her feet were taking her until she saw Lavender. She groaned.

"Hi, Hermione. Have you seen Ronnie around?"

Hermione clenched her fists. "Bug off."

"Gee, what's wrong with you?" She scoffed. "I'll find him." She walked off hautily.

Hermione groaned, putting a hand to her head. "Merlin's beard..." She coughed hard into her elbow, sniffing.

"Well, what have we here?" Draco stood over her, arms crossed.

Hermione sank down to the floor, leaning against the wall. "Bug. Off." She sniffed.

"Oh, the mudblood has an attitude, I see." He laughed, though it was clearly halfhearted.

Hermione groaned, coughing. "Leave me alone, Malfoy." She thought a moment. "Please?"

Draco was taken aback before kneeling down beside her, laying a gentle hand over her forehead. "Bloody hell...do you have any idea how warm you are?"

Hermione opened one eye to glare at him. "Do you have any idea how annoying you are?" Her breath caught and she jerked forward, stifling a sneeze. She nearly bumped heads with Draco.

"Hey watch it!" Draco's eyes softened as he looked at the pale Gryffindor. He noticed how truly pale she was, how flushed her cheeks were. "You really are sick."

Hermione scoffed. "Don't worry; you're not going to become a muggle or anything." She laughed, then realized her mistake as she broke into a coughing fit, holding her elbow up.

Draco nearly winced as he heard her, realizing how painful it sounded. He rubbed her back gently without thinking.

When the fit passed, Hermione was breathless. She eventually noticed Draco rubbing her back and raised an eyebrow at him. "And you're not worried about catching the plague?"

Draco noticed what he was doing and quickly retracted his arm, examining his hand. "Seriously, go see Madam Pomphrey."

Hermione groaned. "For the last time, Malfoy, it's just a bloody cold. Besides, I have an essay and a test and-" She suddenly sneezed, barely able to cover it.

Draco sighed. "Fine, but here," he stood up and offered a hand down to her, "you should at least get some rest."

Hermione looked at his hand and took it, standing up. She swayed slightly and felt the oddly comforting feeling of Draco's arm around her back. She allowed him to guide her, not noticing where they were going. She raised an eyebrow as Draco opened the door to the Room of Requirement. "What in-"

"Oh hush. I don't want to take you all the way to Gryffindor again and try to translate your bloody passwords." He took her inside and gestured to a black leather couch with silver embroidery.

Hermione looked around. The room was decked out in what must have been Draco's own style. She sat on the couch, surprised by how relaxing it was to sit down. She sighed.

"Sleep. You look like hell."

Hermione glared at him but knew he was probably right. "Five minutes. That's it."

Draco smirked and shrugged.


	2. Second Encounter

When Hermione woke up, she was in her own bed in her own dormitories. She looked around, realizing no one else was there as sunlight poured into the room. She got up and rubbed her head, wondering if she'd dreamed what had happened or if it had been real. She sneezed, reminding herself that at least part of the dream had been real. She groaned and reached in her pocket, finding a handkerchief. She pulled it out, seeing the letters "DM" embroidered on the cloth. She raised an eyebrow. "It must have been real, though she didn't remember getting to her own room. She put her shoes on and went downstairs, exiting the common room as well. She walked through the corridor, soon bumping into none other than Draco Malfoy himself. She staggered back, blushing a bit. Draco brushed himself off. "Really, now. You do enjoy attempting to infect me, don't you?"

Hermione shook her head. "Sorry." She handed him the handkerchief.

"Did you use it?"

"No, it's safe."

Draco scoffed. "I gave it to you to use, brainiac."

"Oh, right." Hermione blushed slightly, putting it back in her pocket. "So, how did I get back to my dorm?"

"You walked. I let you sleep longer than five minutes and you walked out and went back to your own dorm. I guess you must've got enough sleep by now."

Hermione's eyes widened. "Wait, what time is it?"

"Three in the afternoon."

"Merlin's beard..." Hermione muttered. She sniffed, rubbing her nose.

"Still have those bloody muggle germs, I see."

Hermione glared at him. "Bug off, Malfoy." Her breath caught suddenly and her head jerked forward as she stifled a sneeze. She groaned softly.

Without hesitation, Draco laid a cool hand over her forehead. "You're feverish."

Hermione stepped away. "What do you want, Malfoy? A string of insults? I don't feel like dealing with this right now, okay?" Defeat was plain in her voice.

Draco grunted. "Actually, I wanted to give you this." He handed her a warm bottle of butterbeer.

Hermione looked at it. "What for?"

Draco shrugged. "Figured you'd want it."

Hermione sighed and took it. "Thanks, then." She coughed into her elbow. closing her eyes. The ripping pain brought tears to her eyes. She opened the bottle and took a drink. She sighed in relief as the warm drink soothed her throat.

Draco turned and started walking away. Hermione shook her head and started walking back toward the common room when it hit her. She reached for the handkerchief and could barely even catch the sneezes the ensued for some unknown reason. She put a hand on the wall to keep herself up, eyes clenched closed. Draco turned back and went to her, watching. When the fit passed, Draco shook his head. "And why exactly don't you go see Madam Pomphrey?"

Hermione leaned against the wall and sank to the floor, dizzy and barely able to breathe. "Id's jusd a-a-a co-" she braced herself for the sneeze that didn't come. She groaned.

Draco smirked, looking down at her. "Fine. At least get to bed and stop spreading your muggle germs."

Hermione glared at him and stood up, ignoring the dizziness. "Malfoy, you bloody git, get the bloody hell away from me if you're so scared of being infected with some muggle disease, why do you keep hanging around me?" She broke into a coughing fit, swaying slightly.

Draco caught her and held her up without thinking. He supported the whole of her weight, feeling her breath on his neck. He shook his head and picked her up, taking her to the Gryffindor common room. "Maltese Puppies." The portrait swung open before the Fat Lady could comment. Draco carried her to the couch and laid her down. He shook his head. "For a know-it-all, you're not too bright."

"Can it, bloody git..." Hermione said hoarsely before coughing hard. Draco took her bottle of butterbeer and tipped it to her mouth, letting her drink. Hermione swallowed and sighed. "No one better see you."

Draco smirked. "Everyone's at Hogsmeade, in case you forgot today's Saturday."

Hermione groaned. "Great...this is gonna be fun explaining to those two."

Draco felt a sort of anger he couldn't explain. "The Potty boy and Weasel?"

Hermione nodded. "Bloody gits." Her breath started coming in gasps and she reached for the handkerchief she'd dropped in the hallway. Draco produced his own and caught her sneeze. Hermione groaned, head lolling to the side. Draco's lip curled slightly at the moistness on his hand. Hermione shivered, distracting Draco. He sighed, shaking his head, and pulled a toss blanket off the back of the couch, laying it over her. Hermione touched his hand. "Thanks," she whispered.

Draco scoffed. "Well, if you die from some bloody muggle disease, I doubt Hogwarts would be the same."

Hermione looked at him through puffy eyes. "What?"

"Well, if the Gryffindors don't have some know-it-all mudblood to help them with homework, they won't be able to give us Slytherins any competition at Quidditch."

Hermione sighed, closing her eyes and shaking her head. She didn't feel like arguing anymore: she just wanted to go to sleep.

Draco noticed the silence and raised an eyebrow. He shook his head and left, going to his own house.


	3. First person to die from a cold

Hermione woke up the next morning on the couch. Apparently, no one had awakened her or put her to bed. She groaned and sat up, rubbing her head. She got up and went to her dorm, grabbing some clean clothes. She went to the girls' bathroom and took a nice hot bath.

Feeling much better after her bath, Hermione went outside. She smiled, glad to be in the sunlight without getting a headache. She sighed in contentment, walking toward the lake. A hunched over blonde suddenly walked into her, making her stagger back. "Hey, watch it-" she gasped. "Well, now who's making a habit of bumping into people?"

Draco grunted. "Bug off." He coughed hard. "You gave me your bloody muggle disease."

Hermione looked shocked for a moment, then laughed. "Oh wow, this is rich." She shook her head. "Go to the hospital wing, Malfoy."

"As if. And become the laughing stock of the wizarding community?" This was punctuated by a large sneeze and a groan.

Hermione sighed. "Fine, then at least get some sleep." She looked at the Slytherin, eyes softening. She gently reached out and laid a hand on his forehead. Her eyes widened. "Merlin's Beard! You're burning up, Malfoy."

Draco coughed hoarsely. "Well someone's feeling better." He didn't move away from her hand, however. It felt good.

Hermione sighed, shaking her head. "At least it's still a weekend." She looked around to be sure no one was watching. "Come on; you should at least be sleeping."

"Right because it helped you so much." He sneezed into his handkerchief. "Filthy mudlbood."

Hermione glared at him, rage making her face go hot. "Bug off, bloody git! If you're not smart enough to get to a bed or hot bath than you truly are hopeless. Maybe you'll be the first person to ever die from a cold, the way you act." With that, she turned on her heel and went back inside.

Draco stared after her, dumbfounded.


End file.
